Fireworks Accident Injures 4

CENTRAL FLORIDA - The Area - In Brief

January 3, 2004

LAKE BUENA VISTA Four Walt Disney World entertainers were injured in a pyrotechnics accident near Cinderella Castle on New Year's Eve, a company representative said Friday.

All four employees were taken to nearby Florida Hospital Celebration Health, treated and released, said Disney World spokeswoman Rena Langley. "The injuries were minor. Smoke inhalation and minor burns," Langley said. She said no one was admitted.

Langley said "human error on the part of a pyrotechnician" caused the 11:30 p.m. accident during the Celebrate the Season show in front of Cinderella Castle. The incident occurred just before the start of the fireworks finale.

No other details on the nature of the pyrotechnics were available Friday, but Langley said it was a device that shoots fireworks from a short distance. "My understanding is the timing was the problem," in that the pyrotechnics went off at the wrong time, she said.

"We take safety seriously, and we will look into the problem. We don't believe that it will happen again." Langley said. She said it was unknown when the employees will return to work.